Why the ankle supporters in Muay Thai?

[Emevas]

So, I'm planning on getting back into Muay Thai (never fought, only trained), and something I was curious about are the ankle suporters I see most MT folks wear. When I trained, I never wore them, but I'm curious if they'd be a worthwhile investment. What purpose do they serve exactly? And would the cause bad habits if I were to train with them on and then spar/fight without them?

Just curious. AnnaT and Kidspat, love to hear you're imput as well as other folks.

[alex]

every fight ive had my ankles have been sore as **** afterwards and thats WITH ankle supporters. generally when you are kicking as hard as you can at someone moving about you are gonna catch a few on the foot and ankle instead of the shin. you will appreciate the padding when that happens. probably not neccessary for training, but i wear one on my left foot cos im such a fucking poser

[Emevas]

Yeah, I was curious if they were for padding or if they were meant to keep the ankle supported and prevent sprains/tweaking. I can definitely see the utility in that, as I catch a ton of kicks with my instep thanks to my TKD days =P

Very cool, much thanks man.

[Torakaka]

I wear them some times and I'm not even exactly sure why. I thought maybe they helped keep you from rolling your ankles, or maybe help your feet cope with the shock of the kicks or something. They don't really seem to be much of any padding, but I guess in that sense they're better than nothing maybe.

[Emevas]

Don't notice much of a difference then? Tricky.

[alex]

bear in mind that i kick a lot. as in, i probably throw more kicks during a fight than i do punches. it adds up. from what ive seen Spatula is a bit more even so it might not affect her so much


probably would help if i could actually aim and didnt keep smashing my foot and ankle into peoples knees.

[Anna Kovacs]

I don't wear them so I cant say. Don't seem like they'd do much imo.

[Meager]

They are intended to prevent sprains, but I think most people wear them because they look cool.

[Anna Kovacs]

They dont seem to provide much support if they're intended for that purpose.

[Cassius]

They are intended to prevent sprains, but I think most people wear them because they look cool.

That's what I always assumed.